Brees, Saints not that far apart in contract talks

Widespread reports over the past several months have pegged the Saints’ offer at $18 million per year, with QB Drew Brees’ demands north of $21 million. Some accounts have put Brees’ expectations at $23 million annually.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, that’s not the case. Brees, we’re told, has never asked for $21 million. And the Saints are believed to be offering more than $18 million, possibly closer to $19 million than $18 million.

So if the gap is closer than reported, why hasn’t the deal gotten done? It could be that the Saints are pushing the bigger numbers, in the hopes of creating the impression that, once they move toward Brees’ real bottom line, it will be perceived that the final number is much closer to what the Saints had offered than to what Brees had wanted, which in turn will result in a belief that the Saints “won” the tug-o-war.

Even if that’s the strategy, it makes no sense for the Saints to sacrifice Brees’ involvement in the offseason program during an offseason of so much upheaval and uncertainty. While Brees may not need the extra work in order to pick up where he left off in 2011, the Saints need Brees.

Fantasy Impact:

This is an encouraging report from the standpoint that the two sides are close enough that a deal should get done before the start of training camp.